Toy vehicle with sound-producing wheels

ABSTRACT

A toy racing vehicle and track system wherein the toy vehicle is self-powered and has wheels with interrupted running surfaces which induce vibrations of the vehicle and/or the track system over which the vehicle moves so as to simulate the sound of a real racing vehicle.

[ 1 Sept. 26, 1972 United States Patent Smith etal.

S T. N m MM m MT A RT m5 m n N U N U 1 TOY VEHICLE WITH SOUND- PRODUCING WHEELS Inventors: Orbert S. Smith, Hawthorne; Denis 3384990 5/1968 Romand..................46/lilX V. Bosley, Palos Verdes Peninsula; George Souhk's Pasadena, a" of 3,360,300 12/1967 Carter ....46/221X Calif.

Primary Examiner-Louis G. Mancene Assistant Examiner-Robert F. Cutting Attorney-Seymour A. Scholnick [73] Assignee: Mattel, Inc., Hawthorne, Calif.

[22] Filed: Jan. 18, 1971 [57] ABSTRACT A toy racing vehicle and track system wherein the toy [21] Appl. No.: 107,383

vehicle is self-powered and has wheels with interrupted running surfaces which induce vibrations of the vehicle and/or the track system over which the vehicle moves so as to simulate the sound of a real racing vehicle.

.141. 252 mn 5 Ann 2 6 m n 6 4 M H 6 n m" .c I -e "ms I" C .M u Umh 11] 2 00 555 [1:1

12 Claims, 5 Drawing Figures TOY VEHICLE WITH SOUND-PRODUCING WHEELS BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a toy vehicle and track system, and, more particularly, to a toy vehicle and track system where the toy vehicle includes soundproducing wheels for simulating motor, engine or other noise.

2. Description of the Prior Art Small toy vehicles have become exceedingly popular among small children as well as adults. In one particular form, the vehicles are small automobiles'of various designs, all of which have freely rotatable wheels. These small automobiles are usually included with a track layout comprising a number of track sections and track section connectors. The vehicle and tracks may best be understood by referring to U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,487,999 and 3,510,981 to A.W.B. Nash et al. and H. W. La Branche et al., respectively. Newer model vehicles have recently been introduced which are powered by small electric motors energized by small rechargeable batteries. These cars are also designed to cooperate with a track layout to provide hours of exciting play simulating automobile racing and stunt shows.

There is a continuing effort to not'only simulate real vehicles in appearance but also to simulate real vehicles in function and operation. In addition, continuing efforts are being made to reduce the manufacturing costs of such vehicles and systems so as to allow broadest possible marketing of these toys.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In furthering the efforts mentioned hereinahove, the present invention provides a toy vehicle and track system comprising a toy vehicle having a wheel including a hub, a rim having an interrupted running surface, and means for connecting the rim and the hub; and at least one track section having a support portion with a running surface, oppositely disposed guide flanges projecting from the running surface, and connection means integral with the running surface for cooperating with a track section connector to join abutting track sections and for spacing the support portion from a base upon which the system is disposed whereby movement of the toy vehicle on the running surface creates a noise which is enhanced by the track section. The invention further includes a toy vehicle having a soundproducing wheel comprising a vehicle body; an axle attached to the body; and a wheel attached to the axle, the wheel having an interrupted running surface for causing the vehicle to vibrate. The invention in more detail includes the wheel for the toy vehicle comprising a hub having an opening for receiving an axle; a" rim having an interrupted running surface; and means integral with the rim and the hub for connecting the rim and the hub whereby the interrupted running surface creates a sound when moved over a surface.

It is a general aim of the present invention to provide a wheel capable of creating a desired sound when rotated while being inexpensive to manufacture and to assemble.

A corollary object of the present invention is to provide a vehicle having wheels capable of creating a desired sound when the vehicle is moved while at the same time having good traction characteristics and the ability to accept the attachment of ornamentation.

Still a further object of the present invention is to provide a toy vehicle and track system with the vehicle having wheels capable of creating a desired noise when the vehicle is moved and where the track amplifies the sounds created by the wheels.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will appear from the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawing.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a toy racing vehicle positioned on a track section.

FIG. 2 is an enlarged elevational sectional view taken along line 2-2 of FIG. 1 illustrating the attachment of a wheel and an axle.

FIG. 3 is an enlarged elevational view of two halves, each representing a different embodiment of a sound,- producing wheel.

FIG. 4 is an enlarged perspective view of one of the wheels in FIG. 3.

FIG. 5 is a partial perspective view of another embodiment of a sound-producing wheel.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS While the present invention is susceptible of various modifications and alternative constructions, illustrative embodiments are shown in the drawing and will herein be described in detail. It should be understood, however, that it is not the intention to limit the invention to the particular form disclosed; but, on the contrary, the intention is to cover all modifications, equivalents and alternative constructions falling within the spirit and scope of the invention as expressed in the appended claims.

Referring to FIG. 1, there is illustrated a toy vehicle and track system 10 comprised of a small toy automobile 12 positioned on a track section 14. As was described in general hereinahove, small toy vehicle and track systems have become exceedingly popular. The vehicles are generally constructed of metal or a tough synthetic resin and have freely rotatable wheels so as to minimize the friction normally associated with moving small vehicles. When the small vehicles are used in conjunction with extruded synthetic resin track sections, various track layouts may be constructed by an imaginative child for simulating various types of automobile racing. In addition to the straight track section, such as the track section 14 shown, various other track components are available such as a 360 loop, 90" and l curves and trestle to recite just a few.

Recently, self-powered small vehicles have been introduced which offer much more potential in simulating actual vehicles, such as Le Mans or CanAm type racing vehicles for example. To operate a non-powered toy vehicle and track system, the vehicle is necessarily propelled by the force of gravity; thus, friction related to the I vehicle must be reduced to an absolute minimum. In this regard, wheels were designed having very small running surfaces and mounted to very small axles since the major dragging force on the vehicle occurred at the wheels. These non-powered vehicles are more clearly described in the abovementioned La Branche et al. patent. With powered vehicles, however, the criticality of friction on the vehicle has been somewhat abated. Thus, efforts to more closely simulate actual vehicles have been given wider latitude.

Again referring to FIG. 1, the racing vehicle 12 is self-powered and has a simulated cockpit 16, front end 18, rear end 20, spoiler 22, front wheels 23 and rear wheels 24. A small electric motor 25, FIG. 2, is located within a motor housing 26, FIG. 1, located immediately adjacent the rear end 20, while a small rechargeable battery is located within the cockpit 16. A small switch (not shown) is attached to the underside of the vehicle and is used to activate the motor. Further, an opening (not shown) is provided to allow the recharging of the battery. In the model shown, the body 28 of the vehicle is made of a suitable tough synthetic resin material.

The version of a track section which is illustrated in FIG. 1 includes a support portion 30 having a running surface 32 from which project oppositely disposed guide flanges 34 and 36. Integral with the support portion 30 are two depending arms 38 and 40 which form a channel to receive a track section connector (not shown) to allow abutting track sections to be joined. Greater detail of the track system may be acquired by referring to the above-mentioned Nash et al. patent.

According to one of the more important aspects of the present invention, provision is made for generating a noise to simulate, for example, the sound emanating from a racing engine. Referring to FIGS. 3, 4 and 5, there is illustrated in more detail the construction of different embodiments of sound-producing wheels. For example, 24b, FIG. 4, the wheel is comprised of a hub 42 having an opening 44 to receive an axle, an outer rim 46, a first set of radially extending arms 48 which are integral with the hub 42 and an intermediate support ring 50, and a second set of radially extending arms 52 integral with the intermediate support ring 50 and the outer rim 46. Also integrally connected to the first and second sets of radially extending arms, the hub, the intermediate rim and the outer rim is a lateral wall 54, more clearly shown in FIG. 3, which forms the major visible surface of the wheel and which receives ornamentation.

The outer rim 46 has an interrupted running surface 47; the term interrupted is intended to mean a wheel having a running surface which deviates somewhat from the usual cylindrical surface generally found on toy vehicles. The running surface of the FIG. 4 embodiment wheel is comprised of a number of flat sections 56 which give the wheel a faceted appearance. Geometrically, the running surface is a prism having a plurality of rectangular faces as viewed in FIG. 4 and a polygon as viewed in FIG. 3. As illustrated, each of the flat faces or sections 56 has an equal area and are disposed to intersect at raised portions designated 58. There are 24 flat sections spaced about the running surface; the raised intersection portions have the largest radius whereas the smallest radius measures from about the center of each flat section. When the wheel is placed on a toy vehicle and rotated at a high velocity, the vehicle will experience a vibratory motion in a direction generally perpendicular to the running surface of the track section over which the vehicle moves. This is caused by the vehicle passing from the flat section 56 to the raised intersection portion 58 and then back to a flat section. At the same time a vibratory motion is also set up in a localized portion of the track section over which the vehicle is'passing. Given an appropriately hard material for the wheel, a sound is created which has a frequency dependent upon the wheel velocity and the number of flat sections on the running surface. Thus, the greater the velocity and/or the greater the number of raised intersection portions, the higher will be the frequency. The noise may be increased by increasing the hardness of the wheel structure and/or by increasing the hardness of the running surface over which the vehicle moves.

Referring to FIG. 1 once again, the track section 14 is made of a flexible synthetic resin material with the support portion 30 being spaced from a base, such as the floor, on which the layout is resting by the depending arms 38 and 40. In this fashion, the track section acts as a sounding board; that is, the track section vibrates and responds to the thumping created by the interrupted running surface of the wheel. It is believed that because of the shape and relatively low mass of the track section, the track section actually produces a substantial portion of the sound.

Referring now to FIG. 5, a wheel 24 having the structure identical to the FIG. 4 embodiment, except for the running surface, is illustrated. The running surface 47a of the FIG. 5 embodiment has a wide smaller diameter portion 51 and a narrow larger diameter portion 53. The narrow portion 53 is comprised of alternate plateaus 55 and recesses 57. The interruptions may be considered the recesses in what would have an uninterrupted surface having a constant diameter coincident with the diameter of the plateaus. The sound is created by the abutment of succeeding plateaus with the running surface of the track section. The embodiment shown in FIG. 5 is well suited for non-powered toy vehicles because the vehicles roll along the narrow portions of the wheels only thereby minimizing frictional drag. While a self-powered vehicle is illustrated, it is understood that soundproducing wheels may also be used on gravity propelled vehicles and that are different embodiments illustrated may be used on either type of vehicle, though the FIGS. 3 and 4 embodiments lend themselves more toward the self-powered vehicles.

Referring to the left side portion of FIG. 3, there is illustrated another embodiment of a wheel 24a having a running surface 47a which is generally cylindrical, except for interruptions caused by equally spaced laterally extending ridges 60 which create the same vibratory motion of the vehicle and the track as the embodiments shown in FIGS. 4 and 5. It is to be understood the ridges may be unequally spaced and need not be axially aligned, though better sound reproduction occurs when the ridges are equally spaced as sound of substantially a single frequency is generated. The wheel of FIG. 4 has excellent wear resistance qualities as compared to the FIG. 3 embodiment because the raised intersection portions 58 are formed like a vertex on a large triangular base while the ridges 60 are relatively small.

It is to be further understood that the sound-producing wheels may be placed at all four locations of the vehicle or only at the rear or only at the front without deviating from the invention as claimed herein.

Another important aspect of the present invention is the provision of a wheel which is inexpensive to manufacture and which allows easy assembly to a toy vehicle. Referring to FIG. 4, it is noted that the entire wheel structure is integral and may be made in a single molding operation. To enhance molding, the first set of radially extending arms 48, the intermediate support ring 50 and the second set of radially extending arms 52 are of equal wall thicknesses. Thus, the wheel is lightweight as there is a great deal of interior spacing within the structure; however, the structure provides for ridgidity of the rim surface thereby enhancing the sound created by the wheel without detracting from the resiliency of the hub. The wheel may also be made in two parts as shown in the above-mentioned La Branche et al. patent or may be one piece but have another element to help retain the wheel on the axle.

The material for the wheel was carefully chosen to provide a structure hard enough to develop adesirable sound level, yet soft enough to provide traction for the vehicle. In addition, the material was required to be easily moldable, resilient enough to allow a press-fit assembly to an axle and able to withstand hot stamping of ornamentation. The material used is an ethylene vinyl acetate having a Shore hardness of approximately 90. Such material may be conveniently purchased from the DuPont Corporation of Wilmington, Delaware, and is sold under the trademark Alathon 3130. Another material is a glass-filled soft elastomer to achieve a combination of high modulus of elasticity from the filler and high friction for traction from the soft matrix.

Referring now to FIG. 2, there is illustrated in the manner in which the rear wheel 24 is attached to the toy vehicle. The motor 25 within the housing 26 includes a shaft 70 which becomes the axle to which the wheel is attached. The opening 44a in the hub is made slightly smaller than the shaft 70 so that the wheel may be press fitted to the shaft to enable a very tight engagement between the wheel and the shaft. To ensure the tight fit, the material of the wheel must be sufficiently resilient; the above-mentioned ethylene vinyl acetate has this characteristic.

Attached to the lateral wall 54a is a ring of foil 72 which simulates a colored sidewall of an actual tire. Toward the center of the wheel, opposite the hub, is another quantity of foil 74 simulating a hubcap or mag wheel (see the foil 72a and 740, FIG. 3 also). The foil is applied to the wheel with an application of heat and pressure. Thus, another example is given of the detail provided to simulate a real automobile.

To emphasize the uniqueness of the wheel structure, it is to be understood that a tradeoff of various characteristics were involved which eventually led to the structure disclosed. The harder the material, the louder the sound generated; however, the harder the material, the poorer the traction and the ability to be press fitted to an axle. To minimize the cost of manufacturing, a one-piece molded wheel is preferable. In addition, the material must be able to receive the hot-stamped foil ornamentation. It was the blending of these factors which provided the proper material and the structural design disclosed herein-above to achieve an optimum result. It is to be understood that while the preferred embodiment is of a toy racing vehicle on a track having the cross-sectional configuration illustrated, the concepts disclosed here may be used on other types of vehicles such as motorcycles, trains, trucks etc. In a like fashion, the type of track used may be altered as may the track material and hardness characteristic; or

5 no track may be used at all.- It is emphasized once again, that the invention is to be determined by the scope of the appendedclaims and not by the preferred embodiments illustrated.

We claim:

1. A ground engaging wheel for rollingly supporting a toy vehicle on a supporting surface, comprising:

a hub portion adapted to be mounted on an axles;

and.

a peripheral tread portion carried by said hub portion, the outermost periphery of said tread portion defining a tread surface for rollably engaging a supporting surface, said tread surface being laterally interrupted at a plurality of peripherally spaced positions whereby when the wheel rolls over a supporting surface said interruptions cause successive impacts to produce sounds.

2. A wheel as claimed in claim 1, wherein said interrupted running surface comprises a prism.

25 3. A wheel as claimed in claim 2, wherein said prism includes a plurality of flat sections having equal areas and intersections which are disposed laterally across the running surface.

4. A wheel as claimed in claim 1, wherein said 30 running surface includes a plurality of laterally extending ridges.

5. A wheel as claimed in claim 4, wherein said ridges are spaced equally along said running surface.

6. A wheel as claimed in claim 1, wherein said wheel is comprised of ethylene vinyl acetate having a Shore hardness of about 90.

7. A wheel as claimed in claim 1, wherein said hub material is resilient; and said opening in said hub is sized to form a tight engagement with said axle.

8. A wheel as claimed in claim 1, wherein said connecting means includes a plurality of radially extending arms and a lateral wall integral with said hub, said arms and said rim.

45 9. A wheel as claimed in claim I, wherein said wheel is comprised of a glass-filled elastomer.

10. A wheel as claimed in claim 1, wherein:

said interrupted running surface comprises a plurality of equal area flat sections including raised portions where any two of said flat sections intersect;

said hub opening is sized to form a tight engagement with said axle; and

said connecting means includes a plurality of radially extending arms and a lateral wall integral with said hub, said arms and said rim.

a toy vehicle on a supporting surface, comprising:

a hub portion adapted to be mounted on an axle; and a peripheral tread portion carried by said hub portion, the outermost periphery of said tread portion defining a tread surface for rollably engaging a supporting surface, said tread surface being laterally interrupted at a plurality of peripherally spaced positions whereby when the wheel rolls over a supporting surface said interruptions cause successive impacts to produce sounds, the interrupted running surface being divided into two portions, a wide cylindrical smaller diameter portion and a narrow larger diameter portion having alternating plateaus and recesses. 

1. A ground engaging wheel for rollingly supporting a toy vehicle on a supporting surface, comprising: a hub portion adapted to be mounted on an axles; and a peripheral tread portion carried by said hub portion, the outermost periphery of said tread portion defining a tread surface for rollably engaging a supporting surface, said tread surface being laterally interrupted at a plurality of peripherally spaced positions whereby when the wheel rolls over a supporting surface said interruptions cause successive impacts to produce sounds.
 2. A wheel as claimed in claim 1, wherein said interrupted running surface comprises a prism.
 3. A wheel as claimed in claim 2, wherein said prism includes a plurality of flat sections having equal areas and intersections which are disposed laterally across the running surface.
 4. A wheel as claimed in claim 1, wherein said running surface includes a plurality of laterally extending ridges.
 5. A wheel as claimed in claim 4, wherein said ridges are spaced equally along said running surface.
 6. A wheel as claimed in claim 1, wherein said wheel is comprised of ethylene vinyl acetate having a Shore hardness of about
 90. 7. A wheel as claimed in claim 1, wherein said hub material is resilient; and said opening in said hub is sized to form a tight engagement with said axle.
 8. A wheel as claimed in claim 1, wherein said connecting means includes a plurality of radially extending arms and a lateral wall integral with said hub, said arms and said rim.
 9. A wheel as claimed in claim 1, wherein said wheel is comprised of a glass-filled elastomer.
 10. A wheel as claimed in claim 1, wherein: said interrupted running surface comprises a plurality of equal area flat sections including raised portions where any two of said flat secTions intersect; said hub opening is sized to form a tight engagement with said axle; and said connecting means includes a plurality of radially extending arms and a lateral wall integral with said hub, said arms and said rim.
 11. A wheel as claimed in claim 1, including a lateral wall connecting said running surface and said hub; and foil attached to said lateral wall for ornamentation.
 12. A ground engaging wheel for rollingly supporting a toy vehicle on a supporting surface, comprising: a hub portion adapted to be mounted on an axle; and a peripheral tread portion carried by said hub portion, the outermost periphery of said tread portion defining a tread surface for rollably engaging a supporting surface, said tread surface being laterally interrupted at a plurality of peripherally spaced positions whereby when the wheel rolls over a supporting surface said interruptions cause successive impacts to produce sounds, the interrupted running surface being divided into two portions, a wide cylindrical smaller diameter portion and a narrow larger diameter portion having alternating plateaus and recesses. 